Three CEOs Reporting Large Insider Buys

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Jun 12, 2014
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Over the past week we’ve seen several large insider buys as well as several coming from the companies’ CEOs. It is interesting to note when a CEO, or even a CFO, buys because these insiders supposedly have the most intimate knowledge of their company's workings.

The following three CEOs each come from various sectors of the market, but they each reported insider buys with transaction amounts valued at over $100,000. According to GuruFocus Insider Data these are the largest CEO buys occurring over the past week.

Endurance Specialty Holdings (ENH, Financial)

Over the past week chairman and CEO John Charman made a rather large insider buy into his company, Endurance Specialty Holdings. The CEO added 35,630 shares to his holdings at $40.96 per share. This transaction cost the CEO a total of $1,459,405. Since his buy the price per share has increased approximately 26.07%. Charman now holds on to 1,354,315 shares of his company’s stock.

These are the first insider buys since March 2014, and prior to that the most recent insider transaction was made in 2004.

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Endurance Specialty Holdings is a holding company of providers of property and casualty insurance and reinsurance. The Company's portfolio of specialty lines of business is organized into two business segments - Insurance and Reinsurance.

Endurance Specialty Holdings’ historical revenue and net income:

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The analysis on Endurance Specialty Holdings reports that the company’s revenue per share has been in decline over the past year, its price is near a 10-year high, and P/E and P/B ratios are trading at near historic lows.

The company recently commenced an exchange offer to acquire all Aspen Insurance Holdings common shares. The company commenced this action on June 9, and each holder of Aspen common shares will have the right to receive for their Aspen common shares, at their election: all cash ($49.50 for each Aspen share); all Endurance common shares (0.9197 Endurance shares for each Aspen share); or a combination of cash and Endurance common shares (0.5518 Endurance common shares and $19.80 in cash for each Aspen share). The exchange offer ends at the close of market on Aug. 29, 2014.

The Peter Lynch Chart suggests that the company is currently undervalued:

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Endurance Specialty Holdings has a market cap of $2.3 billion. Its shares are currently trading at around $51.49 with a P/E ratio of 8.20, a P/S ratio of 1.00 and a P/B ratio of 0.80. The dividend of the company’s stocks is at 2.50%

Winmark Corp. (WINA)

Chairman and CEO of Winmark, John Morgan, made a large insider buy over the past week. The CEO purchased 4,500 shares of his company’s stock at $66.33 per share. This transaction cost Morgan a total of $298,485. Since his buy the price per share has increased a slight 0.05%. Morgan now holds on to 1,708,910 shares of the company’s stock.

The CEO last made a buy in April of 2014, and since then the price per share is down nearly -15%.

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is a franchisor of value-oriented retail store concepts that buy, sell, trade and consign merchandise. It currently has two reportable business segments, franchising and leasing. Play It Again Sports, Plato's Closet, Once Upon a Child, Music Go Round, Winmark, Winmark Business Solutions, Wirth Business Credit, Winmark Capital and LeaseManager, among others, are its registered service marks.

Winmark’s historical revenue and net income:

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The analysis on Winmark reports that the company has shown predictable revenue and earnings growth, its operating margin is expanding, and its dividend yield is close to a 5-year high.

The company most recently announced an increase in its quarterly cash dividend. On May 1, the company announced that the company’s new dividend would be $0.06 per share, representing a $0.01 increase from the previous quarter. This dividend was paid to shareholders on June 2.

The Peter Lynch Chart suggests that the company is currently overvalued:

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Winmark has a market cap of $340.8 million. Its shares are currently trading at around $66.55 with a P/E ratio of 18.70, a P/S ratio of 6.10 and a P/B ratio of 21.10. Winmark had an annual average earnings growth of 27% over the past ten years.

GuruFocus rated Winmark the business predictability rank of 2-star.

Jive Software (JIVE)

Over the past week Jive Software Chairman and CEO Anthony Zingale made a large buy as the company’s price has dwindled down to historic lows. The CEO added 100,000 shares to his holdings at $7.55 per share. This transaction cost him a total of $755,000, and since then the price per share has increased approximately 1.46%.

Zingale’s buy is the first insider buy reported for the company and the first insider transaction since January.

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Jive Software provides a social business software platform that improves business results by enabling a more productive and effective workforce through enhanced communication and collaboration both inside and outside the enterprise.

Jive Software’s historical revenue and net income:

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The analysis on Jive reports that the company’s price is near a 3-year high and its P/B and P/S ratios are trading at near historic lows.

The company was recently named a leader in enterprise social platforms by The Forrester Wave. This report analyzed the state of the enterprise social platform and evaluated thirteen of its most significant vendors.

The company’s first quarter 2014 results highlighted:

  • Total revenue up 21% to $41 million.
  • Short-term billings up 16% to $42.1 million.
  • GAAP gross profit was $25.6 million, up from $20.8 million last year.
  • Loss from operations of $17.1 million, compared to a loss last year of $16.6 million.
  • Announced a new business relationship with Cisco.

Jive Software has a market cap of $574.1 million. Its shares are currently trading at around $8.16 with a P/S ratio of 3.60 and a P/B ratio of 6.50.

You can check out more CEO buys and sells by checking out the GuruFocus Insider Trades page.

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